BMMS: Mobile Media and Social IT

Department: BS in Digital Media  and Design
Institution: IT University of Copenhagen
Term: Fall 10

This course provides a theoretical, analytical and practical overview of the state of mobile technologies in contemporary society. It explores the emergence of mobile social media and their influence on communication patterns and social behavior. Throughout the course, students learn how to conceptualize cell phones beyond mobile telephones (i.e., two-way voice communication devices). Rather, they are defined as mobile interfaces, micro-computers, remote controlsand gaming devices. The lecture class focuses on the history, current uses and future perspectives for the global social use of mobile interfaces.

Along the course we will address issues such as:

• The history of mobile interfaces,
• Mobile phones’ influence on our communication patterns and behavior,
• Public uses of mobile phones, and how they blur the borders between public and private spaces,
• How mobile phones are used for safety and security,
• Mobile phones as fashion items,
• Youth behavior and cell phones,
• The creation of mobile communities,
• Locative media, camera phones and SMS,
• New developments of social mobile media, such as ubiquitous computing and location-based social networks,
• Basic concepts of cellular technologies and cell phone generations,
• Educational and entertainment uses of mobile technologies,
• The use of mobile phones in the developing world (case studies in Africa, Asia and South America).

In addition to the lectures, students are expected to collaborate with each other in class discussions, group presentations, and a practical project that is meant to apply the concepts and theory learned during the course. In summary, the course combines theory and practice in order to help students understand the various facets of mobile communication technologies today, focusing on their history, current uses and social appropriation of technology in a global world.